Four to Score

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
Mystery

Stephanie Plum is hot on the trail of a waitress(Maxine) who skipped bail for stealing her boyfriend's car. Maxine is out for revenge and sets up a treasure hunt for Stephanie and her ex to follow. Stephanie can't solve the clues and enlists the help of a transvestite musician. Also looking for Maxine is Stephanie's enemy, the woman she caught her husband with.

Stephanie is always good for a chuckle. There is murder and mayhem aplenty. I especially loved the scene where she and Ranger go to pick up an elderly bond skipper and Stephanie gets plastered with egg. Way too funny!!

First Line: "Living in Trenton in July is like living inside a big pizza oven."

Rating:

(4.0/5)

Eyes of Prey

Eyes of Prey by John Sandford
Mystery

Lucas Davenport is a Minneapolis cop who is burned out. He has lost his family and had a very bad close-out to a murder investigation. He is severely depressed. He is assigned to a particularly gruesome case. Will he survive this one?

Stephanie Bekker was brutally killed and her eyes cut out. The most viable suspect, her husband, has an airtight alibi. Her killer is a scarred emotional cold person.

A couple of days later the manager of a small theater is killed in a very similar fashion. The most likely suspect again has a very good alibi. Her killer this time is actually is a beauty, a strikingly handsome emotional man.

The only break in the case is that Stephanie was killed basically in front of her lover. He however, cleans up thoroughly and leaves. He does contact the police later on and give them clues to go on. Who is he??

The two killers have to tie up the loose ends and more murders ensue. I loved the reveal at the end.

This is the first of the Prey books and a good start to the series.

First Line: "Carlo Druze was a stone killer."

Rating:

(4.0/5)

Husbands

Husbands by Adele Parks
Chick-lit

Belinda secretly married Steve when they were both very young and living in Scotland. She left him in the middle of a Elvis Tribute competition. Years later, Belinda now Bella, is married to the wealthy Phillip. The big catch is she never got a divorce. Why should she? What are the chances she will meet up with him in London. The moment to tell Philip her big secret never comes and she would get herself into a big mess.

Bella is one of those people who never seem to be able to settle whether at a job or anything. She doesn't have a job and has no clue what she wants to do. Even though she loves to spend Philip's money and takes very good care of herself she is also very generous with her friends, Laura and Amelia. Amelia's husband has just been killed and Laura is recovering from a bitter divorce.

Everything gets turned upside down when Laura meets a new boyfriend who turns out to be Steve. What now? Of course, the secret must be kept. But Bella and Philip end up accompanying Steve and Laura to Las Vegas as part of a Elvis competition. Are Bella and Steve still in love? What about poor Philip and Laura?

This was like a modern fairy tale romance

First Line: "OK?"

Rating:

(3.5/5)

Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice

Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice
Young Adult

The Williamson family lives in a town that is run by opal mines. Rex Williamson volunteers to take his daughter Kellyanne's invisible friends to the mine with him so she can go to school. But unfortunately, he forgets to bring them back and Kellyanne is worried sick.

Kellyanne's health deteriorates when Pobby and Dingan cannot be found. Kellyanne's brother, Ashmol, comes up with a plan to help find Pobby and Dingan. This includes getting the entire town to search for Pobby and Dingan!

This was a cute book, although it is a little sad.

First Line: "Kellyanne opened the car door and crawled into my bedroom."

Rating:

(4/5)

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
Mystery/Thriller/Chick Lit

Stephanie Plum is at it again, pretending to be a bounty hunter. Her latest case is to find Maxine, who skipped out on bail after stealing her boyfriend's car. Stephanie soon learns that her arch enemy, the woman who she caught having sex with her ex-husband, is also trying to find Maxine. Stephanie soon learns that Maxine is leaving clues for her boyfriend in a sort of treasure hunt. Not being very good at puzzles, Stephanie enlists the help of a cross-dresser Sally Sweet. Of course, Grandma Mazur, Lula, Ranger, and Joe Morelli are always around to help or make fun of Stephanie in her quest to take down Maxine.

As expected, this book was a lot of fun and had me laughing in certain parts. I was happy to finally see Stephanie and Joe get together, although I wish he would commit! They are obviously meant to be together. I'm sure there's more to come in the books ahead!

First Line: "Living in Trenton in July is like living in a big pizza oven."

Rating:

(4/5)

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Memoir

This is a set of essays commenting on Sedaris' life. One of the stories is about the time his father drags him over to a bully's house insisting his father pay for the root canal needed. The bully had hit him with a rock in his mouth.

Another of the the stories is about the birth of his niece. His brother becomes a gentler soul but still is a hard-ass.

I must be losing my sense of humour as although the stories were okay I did not find them hilariously funny. I found the Sedaris family to be eccentric sometimes but just the same as any other family. Tiffany wants to divorce her family. Paul is proving his machismo because he is the only 'male'. David is timid because of his homosexuality. An okay read.

First Line: "When my family first moved to North Carolina, we lived in a rented house three blocks from the school where I would begin third grade."

Rating:

(3.5/5)

B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton

B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton
Mystery

Kinsey Millhone is hired by the sister of Elaine Boldt, a wealthy widow who was last seen heading to the airport for her regular trip to Florida. Boldt seems to have been missing since that flight. Millhone is on the case and flies to Florida to track Boldt down. Except there are inconsistencies back in California as well. There was a murder in the home next door and Boldt disappeared before she was set to be questioned by police. Could this have something to do with Boldt's disappearance?

I find that Kinsey Millhone has absolutely no personality whatsoever. I remember not enjoying the first in the series that much, and now I remember why. These novels are very flat. There is no humor and we don't learn too much about Kinsey. That just means that the mystery has to be that much more captivating. Unfortunately, I didn't find it captivating at all, but rather a little dull. Then the book just ends. I think this will be the last book I read from the alphabet series.

First Line: "I'd been in the office no more than 20 minutes that morning."

Rating:

(2.5/5)

McNally's Dilemma

McNally's Dilemma by Lawrence Sanders
Mystery

Archy McNally's official case is to discover who is blackmailing Mr. Fairhurst about the story of his ancestor. Apparently his grandfather escaped the Titanic in drag but the family claimed he had died. What ends up being the main case is the death of Geoff Williams. His wife(Melva) has admitted to the murder. Her husband brought home his girlfriend and did the 'dirty' right in front of her causing her to kill him.

Melva asked Archy to care for her daughter(Veronica) amid the press and paparazzi. Except the stories of the daughter and mother do not match. There are a few niggling details that Archy just can not leave alone. Veronica is gorgeous and a handful. The two cases are interlinked and Archy is given a real dilemma.

This book shows how the rich really do live differently. They are above it all. Archy is as always charming and witty.

First Line: "I was perusing the lunch menu at the Pelican Club when I let out a how, which was a bit uncouth even for that unpretentious lodge."

Rating:

(4.0/5)

The Between Boyfriends Book by Cindy Chupack

The Between Boyfriends Book by Cindy Chupack
Non Fiction Chick Lit

Chupack writes for magazines and Sex and the City, giving advice on dating even though she confesses that as a single woman at the age of 37, it may be advice on what not to do rather than what to do. There are 36 articles/snippet on different subjects of dating and single life in this book. This includes essays on over-emotional guys, passing a guy to your friends when it doesn't work between you two, and when you feel like you've been on your current date before.

This book was fun, easy to read, and I'm sure every girl can relate to something that was said in it! Thankfully, I've never read any of her work before. I'm sure if I were to open up issues of Glamour, these articles would be in there and it would be recycled content.

First Line: "Men are good at a lot of things."

Rating:

(3.5/5)

True Crime by Andrew Klavan

True Crime by Andrew Klavan
Thriller

Everett is a journalist with a lot of personal problems. When one of his colleagues gets in a car accident and is in a coma, Everett gets assigned to her article, which is to interview Frank Beachum, a prisoner hours before he has to be put to death. As Everett looks into the case, he finds a couple of things that don't add up. After talking to the prisoner, and in between trying to sort out his personal life, Everett tries to find out what really happened on that day before Frank Beachum receives his lethal injection.

There were a couple of inconsistencies in the story. Everett goes to interview a person involved in the story and she pretty much threatens his life, then when he comes back later in the day, she helps him. Why the sudden change in attitude?

Also, at the end you want to keep turning the pages to see if Beachum lives or dies, the author splices the action with long paragraphs about how someone would feel going to their death. While this could be interesting, I found that it slowed down the pace of what should be a fast-paced section of the novel.

First Line: "Frank Beachum awoke from a dream of Independence Day."

Rating:

(3.5/5)